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In 1942 the Rocky Mountain Rocket ran on a 19.5 hour schedule from Denver to Chicago. An extra quarter hour was required for the Colorado Springs Section. At Limon, Colorado the Rocky Mountain Rocket was split on its westbound run. The bulk of the train would head northwest to Denver on the Union Pacific's Main Line to Denver, while the rest of the train would head southwest on Rock Island tracks to Colorado Springs. Eastbound, the Rocky Mountain Rocket was combined at Limon for the remainder of its trip to Chicago. A similar split was made in Belleville, Kansas. The eastbound train was split with a section continuing to Union Station, Kansas City, Missouri, while the remainder continued on to Chicago.[1]

Facing steep competition from airlines and a loss of local traffic to interstates, the Rocky Mountain Rocket lost its sleeping and dining cars in July 1965. Snack cars were added to replace the diners and remained in service until the train was discontinued 15 months later. The last train ran on October 16, 1966.